It's been done for centuries in Asia, it's been big in Europe for years and
now painting on silk is becoming very popular in the U.S. Partly it's because
silk is such a neat fabric and more available
now than ever before. But much of the interest is due to the French serti
technique for applying the dye to the silk - it has everything going for it -
it's easy, it's clean, it's fun, and you get startlingly beautiful results.
THE SERTI TECHNIQUE
When
dye is applied to silk it begins to spread,
like grape juice on a table cloth. This may be the effect you want, however in
most cases, most artists want more precise control of their design - hard
lines and distinct shapes. The traditional French approach to controlling the
flow of the dye is called the serti (enclosing or fence) technique. It has
become very popular in American now because spectacular results are possible
with a minimum of effort.
In the serti technique you make a design with a resist called
gutta. The dye spreads up to the resist fence and
is halted, thus filling in the design with color. In other words, the dye is
applied within enclosed areas created beforehand with the resist - the design
is made with the resist rather than by the dye. Here's how:
